Our Team

Senior Business Development & Licensing Officer

Albert is a Senior Business Development & Licensing Officer. His primary focus is on advancing Cornell’s plant variety portfolio and assists in the management of other agriculture-related technologies and supervising outgoing MTAs.

Prior to joining CTL, Albert managed and licensed intellectual property developed by Washington State University faculty for a period of 7 years. Prior to WSU, Albert was a Patent Adviser for almost a decade for USDA-ARS and was based in the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois, and part of the ARS Technology Transfer Office. Prior to joining the Federal government, Albert was in private practice at a boutique IP law firm in Chicago.

Albert obtained his Juris Doctor from DePaul College of Law and is licensed to practice law in Illinois and is a registered Patent Attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Albert is also a USDA Plant Variety Protection Board member.

Senior Business Development & Licensing Officer

Aris is a Senior Business Development & Licensing Officer. His focus is on advancing CTL’s business development efforts with corporate partners and the commercialization of life science technologies.

Prior to joining CTL, Aris was managing partner in a consulting firm that worked with governments, universities, and companies to develop strategies to commercialize and monetize technologies and intellectual property. He has monetized IP portfolios for clients including GE Transportation, and spent 10 years at a public technology commercialization company with increasing responsibilities ranging from Consultant to EVP Business Development. He has licensed and/or launching technologies in the areas of diagnostics, renewable energy, FDA cleared medical devices, therapeutics, software, and financial technology.

Aris earned an EMBA from Rutgers University, and MSc in organic chemistry from the University of South Carolina, and a BA in chemistry from Washington & Jefferson College. He is a member of the Licensing Executives Society and also holds certificates in CLP, PMP, and CPVA.

Plant Variety and Research Material Specialist

Emily is the Plant Variety and Research Material Specialist. In her role, Emily assists with managing Cornell’s Plant Portfolio by working closely with Cornell’s researchers and breeders, as well as other members of the CTL staff. Emily is also responsible for coordinating the transfer of tangible research materials between Cornell and other universities, nonprofits, and businesses.

Emily graduated from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) with a Bachelor’s degree in plant sciences in the spring of 2022.

Business Development & Licensing Associate for the Life Sciences

Marie Donnelly is the Business Development & Licensing Associate for the Life Sciences team. In her role, Marie supports the Business Development and Licensing Officers in managing and marketing the technology portfolio. She joined the Center for Technlogy Licensing in November 2020 as an Innovation Fellow in the Life Sciences.

Prior to joining CTL, Marie spent three years with Zymtronix, a Cornell technology startup working across research and development, business development, and communications. She also worked as the primary product development researcher for Agrynex, Zymtronix’s agricultural biotechnology spin-out company.

Marie has a BS in Environmental Engineering from UC Riverside (Riverside, CA), a PhD from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) in Biological and Environmental Engineering, and worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the Energy Biosciences Institute at UC Berkeley (Berkeley, CA).

Director, Business Development & Licensing – Life Sciences

Phillip leads the Life Sciences team at Cornell’s Ithaca campus and is responsible for overseeing the group’s activities in commercializing technologies to meet Cornell’s mission. In addition, he manages a portfolio of inventions that span the life sciences spectrum from agriculture to human and animal health.

Prior to joining CTL, Phillip served as a Product Director at B. Braun Medical Inc., with overall P&L responsibility of the company’s two most profitable product areas in the US. Earlier, he served as Manager of Business Development and Market Research at Hemosol Inc., leading global partnering efforts for the company’s flagship product, then in Phase 3 clinical trials. He began his career with a brief stint at the Center for Technology Transfer at the University of Pennsylvania, then served as Technology Transfer Administrator and Program Coordinator at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Phillip received his MSc in Clinical Biochemistry and his BSc, Honors, in Neuroscience from the University of Toronto (Toronto, CA). He is a member of the Licensing Executives Society and the Association of University Technology Managers.

Business Development & Licensing Associate for the Life Sciences

Sarah Ward is a Business Development and Licensing Associate on the Life Sciences team. In this role, Sarah supports the Business Development and Licensing Officers in identifying, assessing, and marketing technologies from Cornell researchers. In addition, by engaging with Cornell faculty and students and attending and participating in on-campus seminars and meetings, Sarah will increase CTL’s on campus visibility and as well as CTL’s awareness of the cutting-edge research being conducted on the Ithaca campus.

Sarah has a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where her research focused on the development of novel polymer-drug materials. She holds an M.S. in Polymer Science and Engineering (UMass Amherst) and a B.S. in Chemistry from Texas A&M University (College Station, TX).

Business Development & Licensing Associate for the Life Sciences

Stephen Nowak is a Business Development and Licensing Associate on the Life Sciences team. In this role, Stephen supports the CTL office in identifying, assessing, and marketing technologies from Cornell researchers. Stephen has a passion for helping researchers and students tap into their entrepreneurial potential to bring their cutting-edge innovations to market.

Stephen has a keen eye for identifying high-potential technologies and an ability to negotiate and secure partnerships that maximize value for all parties involved. He has a creative approach to problem-solving, exceptional project management skills, and consistently delivers results that drive growth and success.

Before joining CTL, Stephen worked as a lecturer at a Catholic University, teaching Genetics and Physiology. Stephen received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Clemson University, where his research focused on short-peptide signaling in a nodule signaling pathway in legumes. He also holds a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Arizona.

Director, Technology Licensing

Brian is Director of the CTL office in NYC serving the Weill Cornell Medical College. He manages a portfolio of inventions focusing on oncology, metabolic diseases and endocrine disorders.

Prior to joining CTL, Brian served as Director of Intellectual Property for New York University’s tech transfer office. He has also held positions at the University of Minnesota as a Licensing Associate; Heide, Hyde & O’Donnell as a European Patent Attorney; and Smith, Kline & French as a Research Chemist.

Education

• PhD – Organic Chemistry, University of Leicester (Leicester, England)
• MSc – Intellectual Property, University of London (London)

Professional Affiliations

• Member, Association of University Technology Managers
• Member, Licensing Executives Society

Consultant, Interim MTA Coordinator

Bruce Toman started working at CTL in 2000 and managed a portfolio of inventions, devices, and research tools, mostly in the CNS space, before leaving CTL to join a startup in 2016.  He returned as a consultant, working on a diverse range of specific projects for the licensing officers and handling outgoing MTAs for WCM.

Technology Licensing Officer

Dan manages a portfolio of technologies from Weill Cornell Medical College.

Prior to joining CTL in 2015, Dan worked at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Manhattan where he spent more than eight years in managing and commercializing IP created by Ludwig scientists. Dan originates from Finland but has a Ph.D. in medical genetics from Uppsala University in Sweden.

Interim Senior Technology Licensing Officer

Donna has over 20 years of building value in early stage life science technologies—from sourcing emergent technologies to developing strategies for commercialization. She specializes in managing complex scientific and business relationships and leveraging the synergy of cross-functional teams in due diligence and technology assessments, prototype development, and proof-of-concept studies. She has a strong track record in successful outcomes through negotiation and transactions for licensing, sponsored research, and the creation of strategic alliances in pharma, biotech, and academia. Her passion is launching innovative projects into next-generation products for health and wellness care.

Donna received her doctorate in molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University. Instead of pursuing a postdoctoral position, Donna found herself in the start-up world as one of the founders of Physiome Sciences, Inc., the first in-silico drug discovery platform using computational models of cells, tissues, and organs. She later joined the British Technology Group (BTG Plc) as a technology scout where she visited academic institutions across the East Coast searching for biotech projects in the early stages of development. Although she loved the work at BTG, her small son needed more mommy time, so she joined Columbia Technology Ventures (CTV) to be closer to home. Donna managed a portfolio of investigators at Columbia Medical School, working with Noble laureates and world class scientists. She was later recruited to lead the technology development program at Hospital for Special Surgery, which focused on musculoskeletal innovations in orthopedics and rheumatology. Donna recently joined the advisory board of Tohi Ventures as a scientific advisor, and co-founded Nirova BioSense, an emerging enterprise dedicated to the development of optical sensors for real-time detection of ovarian cancer biomarkers.

Business Development and Licensing Associate

Iris Bica joined the CTL at Weill Cornell Medicine in the NYC office as a Business Development and Licensing Associate in November 2022. In this role, she assists the CTL@WCM team with identifying, assessing, and marketing their portfolio of life science technologies.

Before joining the team, Iris gained experience in business development and technology transfer at Tulane University’s Office of Intellectual Property Management and CancerTools.org, the reagent arm of Cancer Research UK. Iris holds a BS in Cell and Molecular Biology from Tulane University.

Business Development and Licensing Senior Associate

Jamie is a Business Development and Licensing Associate based in NYC. In this role, Jamie assists the licensing team in identifying, marketing, and licensing life sciences technologies developed at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Prior to joining CTL in 2021, Jamie worked as a consultant with ClearView Healthcare Partners, a boutique healthcare consulting firm based in Boston. In addition, he served three years as a fellow with Columbia Technology Ventures (CTV), the technology transfer office of Columbia University.

Jamie received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia University, where he helped develop a scalable signaling language for engineering multicellular communication in the laboratory of Dr. Virginia Cornish. Jamie holds a B.A. in Chemistry, Biochemistry, and French from Lawrence University (Appleton, WI) where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Associate Director, Business Development and Licensing

Dr. Jeffrey Anson James has over 15 years of experience helping academic institutions to commercialize their early-stage inventions. Prior to joining the Center for Technology Licensing at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM), he was associate director for licensing at the Penn Center for Innovation, University of Pennsylvania, where he managed commercialization activities in the life science space. He has also held positions as licensing manager at both the University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. James received his doctorate in biomedical sciences from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, and from there, moved on to complete his postdoctoral studies at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Later, as a licensing and patenting associate at the NIH, he cultivated his passion for helping to translate nascent inventions into commercially viable products and has worked in the field ever since. Dr. James’ goal is to work with faculty and industry to catalyze and facilitate productive interactions that lead to commercial success.

Interim Technology Licensing Officer

Louise manages a portfolio of technologies from Weill Cornell Medicine. Prior to joining CTL Louise was based in Singapore where she was Head of Business Development and Licensing for D3, a drug development group based at A*STAR, Singapore’s lead research agency. Some of her previous roles include Corporate Development Manager at S*BIO Pte Ltd. (Singapore), an oncology focused biotech and Vice President of Business Development at Paramount Biosciences (London), where she was responsible for in-licensing drug development assets. Louise has also worked for leading life science and healthcare communication agencies and UCL Business, the commercialization company of University College London.

Education

• PhD – Biochemical Engineering, University College London (London, UK)
• MSc – Biotechnology, Nottingham Trent University (Nottingham, UK)
• B.Eng (Hons) – Chemical & Process Engineering, Newcastle University (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK)

Associate Director for Innovation and Commercialization, Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar (WCM-Q)

Mina Zion is the associate director for innovation and commercialization for the Weill Cornell Medicine campus in Doha, Qatar (WCM-Q). In this capacity, he oversees the broadening of the research enterprise in Doha by leading external research alliances with global partners across North America, Middle East and North Africa and the EU.

Prior to joining Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar, he was the corporate relations officer and interim president of Sentrimed Corporation, a university founded clinical stage biotech company that develops therapeutic drug candidates for targeting oral squamous cell carcinoma. In this role, he was responsible for identifying and negotiating a portfolio of licensing, partnership and manufacturing agreements, in addition to leading corporate fundraising and overseeing multiple c-suite and board appointments. Mr. Zion assumed similar roles at the University of Pennsylvania, at the University of Southern California and was the founding executive director of the Rowan University Office of Technology Commercialization, where he successfully led an effort to attract leading biotech partners to the region to engage in sponsored research, startup and licensing opportunities. Earlier in his career, Mr. Zion was an innovation scout at BASF Venture Capital and a Thomas G. Labrecque Scholar at JPMorgan Chase.

Mr. Zion received his Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University School of Law where he studied pharmaceutical, administrative and patent law. He holds a B.S. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from New York University Polytechnic Institute.

Director, Business Development & Licensing – Physical Sciences

Business Development & Licensing Associate for the Physical Sciences

Maxim Shabrov joined the Center for Technology Licensing in October 2021 as the Business Development & Licensing Associate for the Physical Sciences team. In this role, Maxim supports the team’s technology commercialization efforts across physical sciences and engineering domains.

Before joining CTL, Maxim independently advised SBIR/STTR-funded startups on business and financial aspects of technology development, scaling, and commercialization and institutional clients on emerging technology investment opportunities. Prior to that, he was recruited by Battelle to help launch a $100m global VC fund with a mandate to invest in early and growth stage nanotechnology businesses. After closing the fund, Maxim served as the director of investments and general manager supporting the fund’s investment operations. Prior to joining Battelle, he served as director of finance at a business incubator where he led several startup financing programs. Maxim received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Brown University and did his post-doctoral research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Business Development & Licensing Officer

Ryan Luebke joined the Center for Technology licensing in 2017 and manages a diverse portfolio of technologies primarily from the Colleges of Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and Human Ecology. His portfolio includes a diverse range of technologies, including batteries, optics and photonics, advanced materials, MEMS/NEMS devices, and microscopy and imaging.

Ryan came to Cornell from Imperial College London, where he worked as a post-doctoral research associate in the Chemical Engineering department. Before that, he worked as a lab scientist in an oil refinery lab at Saudi Aramco, overseeing a team of technicians.

Ryan obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and his MBA at the University of South Florida, where he worked as a marketing intern at the University of South Florida’s tech transfer office.

Venture Fellow

Aaron Delahanty is a Venture Fellow with the Technology Initiatives and Outreach group. In this newly created role, Aaron supports the innovation pipeline by assisting Cornell faculty and graduate students with the commercialization of their technologies. Additionally, Aaron provides support with the management of the Ignite Cornell Lab to Market program series, CTL’s gap funding program. He coordinates with the BD groups to identify potential maturation projects. He will actively monitor the progress of Cornell-licensed startups.

Prior to joining CTL, Aaron contributed to the research and development of a variety of technologies, including positions held at Harvard Medical School’s Wyss Institute and Belgium’s semiconductor research institute, imec.

Aaron is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. He holds an MSc in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Glasgow and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Innovation Outreach Specialist

Kris is responsible for supporting the planning and execution of CTL outreach activities across Cornell’s campuses. She coordinates signature events, meetings, webinars, info and training sessions, showcases, and special events. She helps generate awareness of CTL’s mission and services while encouraging activity growth through attention to participant interest and satisfaction. She supports CTL’s programming, including the Ignite Cornell: Research Lab to Market series, CTL Practicum, Women Innovators Initiative, and other related programs.

Kris joined CTL in January 2022. Prior to joining the team, Kris worked in management and administration for live theatre, specializing in the production of large events and creative program development in hundreds of venues across the United States, most notably in NYC. Additionally, Kris taught in the Performing Arts Department at SUNY Cortland for six years.

Kris received her BS in Communication Theory from the Millersville University of Pennsylvania and her MS in Nonprofit Arts Administration from Le Moyne College in Syracuse.

Assistant Director, Technology Initiatives & Outreach

Lynda leads the Technology Initiatives and Outreach group. She is responsible for the coordinated efforts of CTL Business Development and Marketing, including developing initiatives to promote CTL invention-forward marketing processes and increasing general brand awareness via media, print and tradeshows.  She manages CTL programs that aim to foster the commercialization of Cornell inventions and increase awareness about related topics:

• Ignite: Cornell Research Lab to Market;
• CTL Practicum, an internship program at CTL for graduate students & postdocs;
• Women Innovators Initiative (WI2).

Lynda joined CTL in December 2014 as a Technology Commercialization Specialist for the Life Science group. She provided support in marketing new technologies and in assessing commercial opportunities for technologies in the Life Sciences.

Prior to joining CTL, she worked as a Deputy Attachée with the French Consulate in Boston where she promoted research collaborations and coordinated scientific seminars/programs and with LexisNexis where she was a biopharmaceutical analyst.

Lynda received her BS in Immunology and Microbiology from the University of Bordeaux Segalen and holds a MS in both Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry from the University of Bordeaux Segalen as well as in Management of Technology and Innovation from the University of Paris Dauphine.

Manager, Digital Media & Marketing

Veronica is responsible for managing social and digital media and coordinating marketing efforts for CTL, including website management, graphic design, among others. She promotes CTL’s programs, licensed startups, commercialized products, inventors and their innovations, staff and interns using several digital media platforms, and proposes better practices to achieve the office’s communications goal. She also coordinates the data reporting.

Veronica joined CTL in January 2022. Prior to joining the team, Veronica worked for three years as a marketing and communications specialist at UF Innovate, the commercialization arm at the University of Florida, where she was introduced to the technology transfer field.

Veronica received her BA in Communications and Advertising and MS in Marketing Management from the Central American Technological University (UNITEC) in Honduras.

Director for Contract & Finance

As the Associate Director for Contract & Finance, Yalverton oversees contract compliance and accounting & financial operations for CTL.

Previously, Yalverton served as the Assistant Director of Finance at Columbia Technology Ventures where he managed their financial operations, revenue forecasting, and equity portfolios. He also spent time as a Tax Preparer for the IRS and Accountant for Lead International in NYC.

Education

• BS – Accounting, Johnson and Wales University (North Miami, FL)

Senior Administrator for Contract Services

Danielle is the Senior Administrator in the management of all of CTL’s contracts, including docketing of new agreements and monitoring of active agreements to ensure compliance.

Danielle joined CTL in September 1998 as an Administrative Assistant and quickly expanded her responsibilities. She was promoted to the new position of Licensing Assistant where it was her responsibility to assist the Technology Commercialization and Liaison Officers with managing and licensing their patent portfolios. She moved to Contact Services in August 2007 as the Contract Services Administrator, and was promoted in 2014 to Senior Administrator for Contract Services with the support of a junior member of the group.

Prior to joining CTL, Danielle, a native of Canada, worked for 10 years as an Office Assistant for a sewer and water main wholesale/retail company where her main responsibility was Accounts Receivable management.

Contract Services Representative

Kimberly is a Contract Services Representative. Her main duties include assisting the Senior Administrator for Contract Services in the management and compliance of CTL’s contracts, including agreement entry, reminding our licensees of upcoming obligations and following up on any outstanding obligations.

Financial Services Representative

Elaine handles the account receivable duties at CTL which includes applying payments made by licensees as well as sending invoices required under the terms of each license agreement. She also tracks performance obligations for all active agreements and works with licensees to ensure they are in compliance with the reporting terms of the agreement.

Before joining CTL, Elaine worked in the Business Service Center for the Research Division at Cornell University as a Personal Accounts Representative. Prior to working at Cornell, Elaine was the Business Manager for the Finger Lakes Library System.

Education

• • B.S. Accounting, Binghamton University

Financial Services Representative

Janet handles the accounts payable duties, which includes receipt and payment of attorney invoices. She assists in processing inventor distributions and processing payments to inventors, joint owners and transfers to departments and colleges. She also prepares some financial reports for internal and external customers.

Before joining CTL in September of 2000, Janet worked in the ABEN Department as a Financial Representative and at Cornell University’s College of Industrial Labor Relations in the fiscal office as an Accounting Representative.

Education

Senior Administrator, Financial Services

Matt serves as the accounting team leader and coordinates accounting support activities with other CTL staff. He manages the royalty distribution process and develops and maintains accounting procedures for various intellectual property activities.

Prior to joining CTL, Matt worked at Facilities and Campus Services as a financial analyst. At Cornell, he has also worked at the Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering as an Account Representative and did a rotational assignment with Internal Audit, where he worked as an audit assistant. Matt has a Master’s Degree in Taxation from SUNY Binghamton and is a licensed CPA in New York State.

Executive Assistant/Office Manager

Camila Fuhr Diel is the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director and Office Manager of the Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) at Cornell University. She provides administrative and business support for the Executive Director’s activities, works as the primary contact for internal and external stakeholders and manages operational and HR related activities of the office.

Camila holds a Bachelor in Law degree from Brazil and a Masters of Law degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before joining CTL in January 2020, Camila worked at South Dakota State University as a Sponsored Program Specialist and Licensing Coordinator at the Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization. Camila’s tech transfer experience also includes a 2-year term as Patent Coordinator at a venture capital firm located in Brookings, South Dakota.

Administrative Coordinator

Jessica provides administrative support at CTL. She is the first point of contact and is responsible for welcoming visitors. Jessica also provides support to the associate directors in Life Sciences and Physical Sciences, as well as the IP group, the Technology Initiatives and Outreach group, and the Finance Group on scheduling complex, multi-party meetings, as well as providing support on expense reports, resolving issues regarding payment requests, make sure all required documentation has been provided, and any other requests as needed.

Before joining CTL, Jessica worked at the Statler Hotel, where she was responsible for supervising some of the daily activities at the hotel, including, but not limited to, opening the department, running shift reports, coordinating with the front desk, and also implementing and developing solutions for special requests. She was also responsible for ensuring quality control in the hotel’s public areas, ensuring special requests were placed, and addressing all maintenance issues.

Office Manager

Annie Cheng is the Office Manager at the Center for Technology Licensing at Weill Cornell Medicine.  In addition to managing activities related to the office’s daily operations, she handles attorney invoices and patent reports. She also works closely with WCM inventors to complete formal papers.

Prior to joining the Center for Technology Licensing, Annie worked at GE Medical Systems as a mechanical engineer. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Administrative Assistant

Brenda provides administrative support for CTL at Weill Cornell Medicine. She assists the NYC team with daily tasks maintaining and organizing office operations and procedures, controlling correspondence, designing filing systems, and assigning and monitoring clerical functions. Brenda always welcomes staff, faculty, and visitors with a friendly smile.

She returns to Cornell after three years. Previously she worked at Weill Cornell Medicine as an administrative assistant in the Department of Surgery, Vascular and Endovascular. Prior to joining WCM in 2022, Brenda also worked at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.